There is a wonderful concept found in Hebrews 3:14. It reads, “For we have become partakers of Christ. . .” John 1 tells us that God, The Word, became flesh and dwelt among us.” This is an intriguing exchange. God takes on humanity and humanity takes on divinity. Note the tense used in Hebrews 3:14. “We have become.” This is not a future thing that occurs when this mortal puts on immortality. See I Corinthians 15. This is something for us to experience now.
So what are the implications of such an experience? First of all, divinity is righteous. Since we are not righteous in actual experience at least we are forensically. God declares us righteous with room to grow. The entire Christian walk is about becoming. Second, divinity is eternal. We are still mortal but the promise is so sure we can claim to have started living forever. See John 5:24 where we are promised we have already crossed over from death to life. Third, divinity participates in all manner of blessings. If we are partakers of Christ a whole cornucopia of blessings becomes available to us right now. We could start with stress reduction. Our future is secure. He holds us safely in His hand. We can eliminate guilt and its accompanying anxiety. The elimination of stress will result in a host of physical benefits. Stress is extremely devastating to most, if not all, of our systems.
We should be happier making us nicer people and thus we can enjoy a wider circle of friends. The list can go on and on.
“Partakers of Christ.” It’s a marvelous reality. Let’s not only look forward to what God has for us but let’s not neglect the joys of the present.
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 18, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org